“Attention! General Cohen on deck!” a senior chief called out.
“As you were,” David quickly replied. “It’s good to be home.” He flashed a grin.
Colonel Spier stood from the commanding officer's chair and slowly made his way over to David. “Greetings, sir.” He too came to attention. “I am ready to be relieved.”
“I relieve you.”
“Let the record reflect that Brigadier General David Cohen is again the commanding officer of the CSV Lion of Judah,” Ruth intoned.
Spier stared at David. “Good luck, General. Godspeed to you.”
“Godspeed to you too.”
“I’ll take my leave.” Spier turned on his heel and quickly exited the bridge.
The moment he cleared the hatch, Ruth turned toward David. “And good riddance to bad rubbish.”
“Captain Goldberg, stow it.” David glanced about the bridge. “Colonel Spier was the lawfully appointed commander of this ship. I will not tolerate any disrespect toward him. To allow or encourage it undermines good conduct and order. Are we clear?”
“Crystal, sir,” Ruth barked. Various calls of “Aye, aye, sir” echoed across the space.
“Good. With that out of the way… status report?”
“The Lion is ready for action, sir,” Hammond answered. “Aside from taking on additional munitions and supplies, all systems are fully functional.”
David nodded and took a few steps toward Amir. “Colonel, good to see you again.”
“Likewise. As-salam Alaykum, old friend.”
“Alaykum Salam,” David replied and moved to Tural. “Doctor, same to you.” He smiled and extended his hand. “Thank you for volunteering.”
“I only wish I can use my hands to heal the injured in this coming fight,” Tural said as he took the outstretched arm and shook it warmly.
The sound of the bridge hatch cycling open attracted David’s attention. He turned to see Major Merriweather and Dr. Hayworth walking in. Merriweather saluted and smiled. “Permission to enter the bridge, sir?”
“Granted. Good to see you both.” The sight of Hayworth puzzled David. I’d figure the government would insist he join the evacuation. His brain is worth fifty starships.
“In case you’re wondering,” Hayworth began, his voice crusty as ever. “I don’t trust anyone but myself to ensure my work is destroyed, rather than letting those damn communists get their hands on it. Assuming it comes to that, of course."
Hayworth is a bit smarter on military matters than he lets on. David inclined his head. “Let’s hope it doesn’t, but I appreciate the sentiment, Doctor. It’s good to have you on board. Now, we’ve spent enough time on saying hello. Let’s get to work. Captain,” he said, shifting his gaze back to Ruth. “Assemble the senior officers, including Dr. Hayworth, for a staff meeting at 1300 hours.”
“Aye, aye, sir!”
* * *
Talgat Aibek, now a full Void Captain in the Royal Saurian Navy, found himself pondering things that could have been as he sat on the bridge of the RNS Resit Kartal. He’d been given command of the mighty vessel as a reward for service during the League of Sol war, and his performance during the last offensive, which destroyed the enemy shipyards. We should have been able to continue the fight. The enemy would have fallen before us. While the atmosphere on the bridge of the warship was content, almost jovial, as a group of Saurians typically were, Aibek felt off. David would say I am depressed.
There were no humans on board now that the exchange program had ended. Aibek found he missed them as well. During his time in the CDF, many human customs had become second nature to him. Even small things, like searing his meat before he ate it, rather than consuming it raw, had stuck. Now he kept up with news out of the Terran Coalition. The current situation made him wonder what his friends were doing in the face of the new League threat.
“Void Captain, there is an incoming transmission for you,” the communications officer announced. “It bears the encryption stamp of the Coalition Defense Force.” The last bit was said with a sneer. Most Saurians didn’t have much good to say about humans these days.
“Put it on the main holoviewer,” Aibek rumbled.
A few moments later, David Cohen’s form appeared on the screen. His freshly shaven face was unsmiling and gaunt, with dark circles under his eyes. “Void Captain Aibek. It’s good to see you again.”
Aibek stared with an open jaw. The last time he’d heard from David, it was to explain his choice to go into rabbinical school. “It is agreeable to see you, old friend.” He forced his mouth into a toothy grin. “Is that your old office on the Lion of Judah I see in the background?”
“It is. I retook command this morning.”
“Then the Terran Coalition finally came to its senses.”
“Yes… I suppose we did. Just a few months too late.” David closed his eyes for a moment. “I’m about to put you in an awkward spot, Talgat. I need some help.”
“Asking a fellow warrior and friend for help is never awkward,” Aibek responded and held up his hand. “If it is within my power, I will do it.”
“I’m not sure what your intelligence agencies and media are saying, but there’s no way we’re going to win without reinforcements,” David said without preamble. “Even with the entire Saurian fleet backing us up, I don’t know if it's possible. But the odds would be higher than zero.”
A shiver shot through Aibek. The specter of his friends perishing shook him to his core. “What of the news broadcasts saying the Terran Coalition’s fleet is preparing to fight?”
“The Lion of Judah is going to fight a rearguard action to cover as many civilians as possible while they evacuate. Beyond that, I’ve got a hundred and fifty ships to counter Seville’s fleet.”
David’s is the best strategic mind I have ever seen. Not even he could hope to win with those odds. “I will fight at your side. We will perish together as brothers. The Resit Kartal would be honored to join this battle.” Aibek’s face took on a neutral expression. While death wasn’t something he welcomed, leaving others to die without support was dishonorable and would tarnish him in the afterlife.
“No. I don’t want you to come here to die. Too many good men and women are about to make the ultimate sacrifice. What I need is for you to convince Chief Minister Obe to relent and send the fleet. President Spencer already tried and was unsuccessful. I thought you might have more success. You have to get him to see reason. The League will come knocking for the Saurian Empire as soon as it's done with us.”
“You speak the truth as if it came from the lips of the Prophet himself.” Aibek inclined his head. “I will do as you ask. But, if I am unsuccessful, I pledge to you that we will be at your side.”
“Thank you, Talgat.” David swallowed. “I’m sorry, I’m a bit more emotional than I normally am.” He bit his lip. “Taking stock of your life and looking death in the face will do that to a man.”
“Allow me to contact the Chief Minister immediately, old friend.” Aibek stood and came to attention and saluted in the human style. “Godspeed, General Cohen.”
“Godspeed, Void Captain. May the Prophet bless your conversation, for all our sakes.” David returned the salute. “Cohen out.” His picture blinked off.
Aibek glanced around the quiet bridge. “Anyone who wishes to challenge me may do so now. I will fight the entire complement of officers on this ship to ensure we join the Lion of Judah against the godless enemy.” His tone was quiet, but at the same time, deadly serious. His teeth showed as he spoke.
“I believe I speak for all of us, Void Captain,” the tactical officer began, standing from her post, “when I say we would follow you to the end of the galaxy. If honor demands we stand with the humans, then stand with them we will, in the name of Prophet.”
It seemed as if everyone in the room exchanged a glance, as an unspoken confirmation of her words jumped from Saurian to Saurian. “Very well,” Aibek began. “I will retire to contact the Chief Min
ister. Hold position until I order otherwise, but navigator—be prepared to jump toward the Terran Coalition at a moment’s notice.”
* * *
“As you can see, sir, we’ve got the enhancements online,” Hanson stated. “This represents Dr. Hayworth’s fourth increment of upgrades to the reactor’s power conversion system.”
David nodded. He’d been touring the engineering space for the last forty-five minutes. While he trusted his team to ensure combat readiness, it was still nice to inspect things for himself every once in a while. “Your notes indicated we’d see a ten percent increase in usable energy?”
“Yes, sir. More shields or faster weapon recharge.”
“Always a good thing to have more of in a fight.” David smiled. “How’s your team holding up?”
Hanson glanced away for a moment before returning his eyes to David. “Honestly, sir? This whole ‘we’re probably going to die’ thing weighs on us. I know it does on me.”
While David hadn’t entirely told the crew there was no hope, everyone could do the same math he had. Still, he had pride in how everyone had come together. There was no whining or complaints. All knew what was asked of them. “I won’t lie, Major. I’ve had a few moments. But those people down there… they depend on us for protection. And that is what we’re going to give them, no matter the cost.”
“Yes, sir.”
The commlink on David’s wrist chirped, interrupting the two men. He brought it up to his mouth. “This is Cohen, go ahead.”
“Sir, former Master Chief Tinetariro is at the airlock on deck eighteen, section 23B. She’s requesting permission to come aboard but lacks valid clearance and ID.”
David assumed the voice belonged to the Master-at-Arms assigned to the aforementioned airlock. “I’ll be there shortly.” I’ve missed her too. He glanced at Hanson. “Well, carry on, Major. I’m needed elsewhere.”
“Aye, aye, sir. We’ll have her in peak fighting condition, don’t you worry.”
With a curt nod, David strode away, moving past groups of enlisted personnel and engineers hard at work. A ten-minute walk later, he’d passed upward of one hundred people and crossed over a good three hundred meters of deck plates. As he cleared the corner to the passageway leading to the airlock, Tinetariro’s trim form was visible, in standard CDF BDUs—battle dress uniform.
She stood at parade rest and came to attention as David entered her line of sight. “Permission to come aboard, sir?”
David waited until he was close. “At ease, Master Chief. I thought you had retired?” he asked with a small smile on his face.
“Technically, I still am, sir. I can’t find any of those CDFPER twerps to sign the paperwork for my reenlistment. I was hoping you’d let me back on board.” She, too, smiled warmly. “Never let it be said that I walked away from a perfectly good fight with the Leaguers.”
“Of course not.” For a moment, his mind worked. I could try and find someone at personnel to sign the package. Ugh, who cares? We’re so far away from standard operating procedures, it's not funny. “Well, rather than waste our time trying to find a paper pusher… under the regs, I’m authorized to administer the oath. We’ll need a Bible, though.”
“I brought my own for just that eventuality, sir.” Tinetariro pulled a small New Testament out of a pocket on her uniform.
“Of course,” David replied with a grin. “And I’m sure you remember the words, without me having to repeat them.”
“By heart, sir.” For a moment, there was a sheen in her eyes. She assumed a rigid posture and brought her right hand up, palm outward, while her left hand rested on the Bible. “I, Rebecca Tinetariro, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the Terran Coalition against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the Terran Coalition and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me, God.”
“Welcome back, Master Chief. Let the record reflect that as of 1415 hours, Master Chief Tinetariro is hereby reappointed to her position as the senior enlisted soldier on the CSV Lion of Judah.”
“Thank you, sir.”
David flashed a smile. “It’s great to have you back. Get down to engineering, and synch up with Major Hanson. His engineering teams need all the help they can get to finish getting us shipshape.”
“Aye, aye, sir,” Tinetariro replied and drew herself to attention once more. “Godspeed, sir.”
“Godspeed, Master Chief.”
14
Kenneth was surprised to still be a free man. Sitting down at his desk on Churchill’s primary shipyard, he’d spent the last twenty-four hours trekking back from where David and Sinclair dropped him and Billings off at New Washington’s spaceport. He’d received an email informing him a full pardon had been granted, but that news was overshadowed by the League’s pronouncement of restarting the war. Panic hung in the air, and Kenneth found himself with Harold Billings and Joshua Carter directly across from him. They both look like they’ve aged twenty years in the last week. He leaned back in his chair. “Did you guys get anywhere with Casey’s people? CDF Command sent an urgent message asking when we could deliver the mothball refits, but as far as I saw, they ducked the question, and no one can find them.”
“Nothing, boss,” Billings replied. “I can’t find any of the management team. It’s weird.”
Carter shifted in his seat. “I made some inquiries too. Zilch. Nada.”
“So, what, we’re just supposed to sit here while the League blows everything our ancestors worked for over the last three hundred years to bits?”
“Maybe it’s time to consider joining the evacuation,” Carter said. “I’ve got a family… and I don’t want them to end up in a reeducation camp.”
Billings leaned forward. “Joshua’s got a point. We’re not soldiers, and there’s probably nothing else we can do, boss.”
At that moment, the office door swung open. One of the program control analysts that handled billing and money stuck her head in. “Sir, we have a problem.”
“One of many, I’m sure,” Kenneth replied dryly. “What’s going on?”
“Payroll bounced, sir. None of the employees’ credit transfers went through, and when I went to check on it, I found every corporate account I had access to drained of funds.”
Kenneth’s face went white. “There were hundreds of millions of credits in those accounts. Are you sure?”
“Yes, sir. And I can’t find Miss Lee. She doesn’t answer either by handcomm or vidlink.”
“Who else knows about this?”
“Just me right now. I wanted to tell you first.”
Dark thoughts clouded Kenneth’s mind. “Thanks. Keep a lid on it until I can get to the bottom of what’s going on, okay?”
“Yes, sir.” The door closed softly behind her.
“Margaret Lee keeps a private ship docked in hangar bay sixteen, berth D.” Kenneth stood and walked around the desk. “I’m going down there to see what’s what.”
Billings sprang to his feet. “Not alone, you’re not.” He flashed a grin. “Master Chief’s orders.”
“On second thought, we might need some backup.” Kenneth turned to the wall and used his palm on a scanner to open a small safe. “I don’t know if I ever mentioned it, but since I have a permit to carry a concealed weapon, I’m allowed to have a sidearm on the station.” He opened the door, revealing a small stack of papers—and two holstered sidearms. One went on his belt, the other he held out toward Billings. “Not sure what we’ll find down there.”
“Good idea, boss. Just don’t shoot Casey, okay?” Billings said as he slotted the holster onto his pants.
“No promises.” Kenneth grinned. “Josh, you in?”
“Yeah. I keep letting you two have all the fun.” Carter stood. “Let's do this.”
The three men made their way through the near
ly deserted shipyard toward the hangar bays. Many of the military personnel had already pulled out, with vague ripples through RUMINT about needing all hands on deck for evacuation of civilians to the Exodus fleet. Every operational warship had already set off for Canaan, leaving the docks devoid of the military vessels they would typically service. The SSI shuttle sat by itself, clearly visible across the deck. A small cluster of figures stood outside while an autoloader lifted crates into its cargo bay. As Kenneth got closer, the forms of Margaret Lee and Stephen Casey came into view, along with others he didn’t recognize.
“What the hell are you doing here, Lowe?” Casey yelled hotly. “Don’t you have some work to do?”
Kenneth stopped while he was still a good ten meters from the shuttle, Casey, and the rest. “We want to know why the companies accounts are dry. Everyone’s paycheck bounced.” He stared the man down. “Where’s the money?”
Lee took a few steps forward. “Kenneth, I understand your concerns, but we need to look after ourselves right now.” She gestured to the ship. “There’s room for you and your top people.”
“What the hell, Margaret? I don’t want that guy anywhere near me,” Casey thundered. “He’s not welcome.”
It took a second for Kenneth’s brain to comprehend what was going on. “Ms. Lee, are you telling me you know he looted the accounts?” Please, don’t let that be true. I had respect for you.
Her face turned ashen. “Yes. I’m sorry. I’ve chosen to put my family first. Again, you’re welcome to join us.”
“What did you do?” Kenneth stared at her.
“There’s nothing more anyone can do for the Terran Coalition,” Lee began. “It is every person for themselves.” She shrugged. “I don’t like it, but that’s the situation. We cleaned out what we could. I contacted a shipbroker and purchased several freighters. There’s room for your families.” She glanced between Kenneth, Billings, and Carter. “We need to leave now.”
Finish the Fight: Echoes of War Book Seven Page 13
